Owen Billing

Reducing synthetic N has been only one of the ways Owen has benefited from changing his system.

Owen Billing has always looked to do things differently. In the early 2000s he began working out how he could move to a more biological, foliar-based system. Up until then, Owen was like many dairy farmers, relying on a solid fertiliser programme to provide the nutrients his pasture needed.

As Owen developed his system, he needed a machine that could handle the products he wanted to put through it. It was some time before he came across the Tow and Fert, but in 2016 he took the leap and bought a Multi 1200.

Owen says his system has changed a lot since then.

“Our system has changed a lot since having the Tow and Fert. We can feed the system differently compared to when we were on a solid fertiliser programme. We were pushing too much N into the system and just growing ryegrass, whereas now we focus on having a high legume and herb count in the pasture.”

“We are growing about the same amount of pasture as before, but the quality and nutritional value of that pasture is far superior using the foliar system.”

Owen puts that down to how the system now works below ground.

“We are using the soil properly. We are farming deeper into the ground, having bigger plants with deeper root systems, and the Tow and Fert enables us to stimulate growth when the time is right for the plant to grow.”

In South Gippsland, Victoria, Owen sprays a paddock overlooking his neighbours’ properties. He brews his own compost tea and other biological products, alongside small amounts of chemical-based fertiliser.

A big part of the appeal for Owen is being able to reduce the urea, or synthetic N, he puts on. To replace it, he applies products that feed the biology in the soil. That biology then captures the free N available over every hectare of the farm, fixing it naturally. As Owen puts it, “N is not our limiting factor anymore.”

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The products Owen applies are diverse: fish hydrolysate, kelp, humic acids, and micronised lime, P and K. The Tow and Fert lets him apply all of them at once, in ratios that suit each paddock’s needs, saving a lot of time.

Tailored paddock fertility a real bonus

Being able to customise recipes paddock by paddock lets Owen manage growth proactively. He has moved from a blanket approach across the whole farm to regularly testing each paddock’s soil and herbage.

“One thing that is helpful for us is that we can tailor our fertility programme to individual paddocks rather than just taking a blanket approach. We can soil test and herbage test each paddock and customise a recipe that fits that specific paddock. Then we head out to that paddock with the Tow and Fert and apply product where it is needed. So that’s a big benefit to us.”

Owen has also used his Multi 1200 to oversow clover, plantain and chicory, which he calls a “really cost-effective way of getting more diversity into the system.”

“The Tow and Fert enables us to use products, especially home-made products and products that we couldn’t get through an ordinary boom sprayer, or couldn’t apply any other way, things like fish and kelp. We can use quite viscous products and put them out without any blockages or mechanical issues.”

Owen has also moved the farm to once-a-day milking, and has this to say about the system he now runs.

“The Tow and Fert in our system has been a really crucial tool. It has enabled us to reduce our input costs considerably, which has meant we’ve been able to take the stress out of what we are doing.”

No longer beholden to a lot of high-cost imported products, Owen says the change has made a real difference to his family’s wellbeing, and ultimately to the farm’s as well.

“We are not worried about where the next lot of fert has to be paid from. It makes the system work holistically.”

And to farmers considering the change, or wanting to do more on their own farm, Owen doesn’t overthink it.

“If you’re on the fence about buying a Tow and Fert, just do it. It’s a game changer.”